Still Shorthanded, Preview, Lineups, & How To Watch

The Chicago Blackhawks (18-19-7) play the back end of a weekend back-to-back against the Nashville Predators (20-19-4) at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night.

Saturday marks the second of four meetings between the Central Division foes in the 2025-26 season. Nashville won the first meeting, 4-3, at the United Center on Nov. 28. Ryan Donato, Ryan Greene (PP), and Wyatt Kaiser were the three goal scorers in the game for Chicago. Matthew Wood, Steven Stamkos, Luke Evangelista, and Ryan O’Reilly (GWG) had the tallies for the Predators. Juuse Saros stopped 24 of 27 shots faced to earn the win in net.

Last time out, a short-handed Blackhawks bunch had their four-game winning streak snapped, falling 5-1 to the Washington Capitals at the United Center on Friday in their first of two games this weekend.

While Connor Bedard made his return after missing the last 12 games, the Blackhawks were still down several players due to a flu/stomach bug running rampant in the locker room. Louis Crevier, Ilya Mikheyev, and both goaltenders, Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom, were unable to play due to illness. Minor-league starter Drew Commesso was recalled from the AHL and made his third career NHL appearance against Washington. He stopped just 19 of 24 shots faced in the loss. Rookie Oliver Moore (PP) was the lone goal scorer in the game.

The Predators are coming off a 2-1 shootout win over the New York Islanders in their last time out on Wednesday to begin a four-game homestand. O’Reilly had the lone tally in regulation for Nashville, while Filip Forsberg netted the shootout winner. Juuse Saros stopped 30 of 31 shots faced for his 17th win of the season.

Nashville is 2-2-0 in its first four games of the New Year and currently sits one point ahead of the Blackhawks in the Western Conference standings. The Predators are three points back of the Utah Mammoth for the final wildcard playoff spot, while Chicago is four points back.

Here’s everything to note before the puck drops at approximately 7:00 p.m. CT in Nashville.

Blackhawks Regular Season Notes (Last Five Games)

What a start to 2026! Ilya Mikheyev scored twice to help the Blackhawks beat the Stars 4-3 at the United Center. It’s Chicago’s second win in five days over Dallas.

Captain Nick Foligno comes up clutch with the first shootout goal of his NHL career to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 win in the Nation’s Capital. Teuvo Teravainen and Ryan Donato also scored in the victory against the Washington Capitals, while Spencer Knight stopped 32 of 34 shots.

It was the Tyler Bertuzzi Show on Sunday, as he carried the Blackhawks to their third consecutive win with a hat trick. Bertuzzi scored all three goals, including the overtime winner, to overcome a late deficit and beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2.

What a complete team win! Seven different players scored a goal, and 13 recorded a point in a 7-3 beatdown over the St. Louis Blues. Both special teams units were also spectacular as the Blackhawks’ winning streak reached four games.

Connor Bedard was back, but the Blackhawks were still stretched remarkably thin against the Washington Capitals. An illness/flu bug swept through the locker room, leaving several players unavailable. Chicago couldn’t extend the winning streak and fell 5-1 to the Capitals for their first loss of 2026.

Blackhawks Projected Lineup

Forward Lines

Tyler Bertuzzi — Ryan Greene – Andre Burakovsky

Connor Bedard — Oliver Moore — Nick Lardis

Teuvo Teravainen — Jason Dickinson — Ryan Donato

Colton Dach — Nick Foligno — Landon Slaggert

Defensive Pairings

Alex Vlasic-Connor Murphy

Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov

Kevin Korchinski-Matt Grzelcyk

Scratched

F — Sam Lafferty

Injured

D — Louis Crevier (illness), G — Spencer Knight (illness), F — Ilya Mikheyev (illness), F — Frank Nazar (face), G — Arvid Soderblom (illness)

***

The Blackhawks did not hold a morning skate on Saturday, as they traveled from Chicago to Nashville late on Friday night.

The forward lines and defensive pairings listed above are from Friday’s loss to Washington. Head coach Jeff Blashill said after the game that Mikheyev will travel with the team to Nashville and could rejoin the lineup. If he does, expect Landon Slaggert to join Sam Lafferty as a healthy scratch.

It sounds like Crevier isn’t expected to make the trip. Should Crevier miss a second consecutive game, Kevin Korchinski will draw in once again.

Predators Projected Lineup

Forward Lines

Filip Forsberg — Ryan O’Reilly — Steven Stamkos

Michael Bunting — Erik Haula — Luke Evangelista

Tyson Jost — Fedor Svechkov — Matthew Wood

Reid Schaefer — Michael McCarron — Cole Smith

Defensive Pairings

Roman Josi-Nick Perbix

Brady Skjei-Adam Wilsby

Nicolas Hague-Nick Blankenburg

Scratched

None

Injured

F — Zachary L’Heureux (lower body), F — Jonathan Marchessault (lower body), F — Ozzy Wiesblatt (upper body)

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The Predators are expected to roll with the same lineup from Thursday’s shootout win over the Islanders.

Projected Goaltending Matchup

Stanislav Berezhnoy (0-0-0, 0.00 GAA, .000 Sv%, 0 SO) vs. Juuse Saros (17-14-3, 2.96 GAA, .897 Sv%, 0 SO)

Berezhnoy, who was recalled from Rockford earlier in the day, could be in line to make his first NHL start against the Predators. Both Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom missed Saturday’s game due to illness. Berezhnoy is 4-4-1 with a 3.23 GAA and .889 Sv% in his first nine career AHL starts with the IceHogs this season.

Saros is expected to make his 35th start of the season in net for Nashville. The 30-year-old netminder stopped 30 of 31 shots faced to earn the win over the Islanders in his most recent start on Thursday. Saros is 15-4-2 with a 2.21 GAA, .924 Sv%, and two shutouts in 22 career games against Chicago.

2025-26 Schedule/Results vs. Predators

The Blackhawks have earned points in back-to-back games at Bridgestone Arena (0-0-2) and have logged points in three of their last four games against Nashville overall (1-1-2)

11/28/25 — 4-3 L, United Center

01/10/26 — Bridgestone Arena

02/26/26 — Bridgestone Arena

03/22/26 — United Center

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